Spirits Bay (Piwhane)

The aptly named Spirits Bay, or Piwhane, is located at the most northern tip of New Zealand’s North Island. The isolated bay is 12 kilometers long and was named one of the top campers’ spots in New Zealand.

Te Karaka Bay (left) and the long coastline of Spirits Bay (right), viewed from its eastern end.Credit: williamsphotography.co.nz

Cultural Significance

From Wikipedia: The bay is considered a sacred place in Māori culture as according to local legend, it is the location where spirits of the dead gather to depart from this world to travel to their ancestral home (or afterlife) from a large old pōhutukawa tree above the bay. The bay has two Māori names, Piwhane and Kapowairua, the latter meaning to “catch the spirit”, derived from a Māori language saying that translates into English as: “I can shelter from the wind. But I cannot shelter from the longing for my daughter. I shall venture as far as Hokianga, and beyond. Your task (should I die) shall be to grasp my spirit.” The words were spoken by Tōhē, a chief of the Ngāti Kahu people, who is considered one of Muriwhenua’s most important ancestors. Tōhē made his way south, naming more than one hundred places along the western coast, until dying at Whāngaiariki near Maunganui Bluff.

Reports of apparitions

Spirits Bay is claimed to be one of the most haunted locations in New Zealand. According to legend, if visiting the bay at night you can observe multiple individual spirits travelling down the beach before disappearing at a single spot. The claims are these spirits ignore any attempts to interact or delay them, and are solely focused on their destination. These are believed to be souls departing the island as mentioned in the Māori legend. In the nearby Tom Bowling Bay there is a stream, the Kapo-Wairua., name literally meaning “Snatching Souls.” This is said to be a reference to demons who try to snatch at the spirits passing that way.

Have you visited Spirits Bay and witnessed any paranormal activity? We’d love to hear your stories in the comments below!

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Author: Matthew Tyler

Paranormal Investigator and Website Admin for Haunted Auckland.
I have been fascinated by the paranormal from an early age and have a keen interest in seeking empirical evidence of phenomena outside the bounds of accepted science.

Hi there, they is going to seem really weird as probably unbelievable. I am a Kiwi living in London currently. I grew up in Auckland before moving to the UK. I had a dream where I was standing on a hill by the coast in New Zealand and a spirit of a women in a long white flowing dress walked over to me, long black hair covering her face, she was also giant in the sense she that she dwarfed me. She picked me up and cradled me in her arms like you would a baby and said “spread knowledge of the spirits”. It was at that point I woke up. I remember the image in my head of this hill and encounter and so i googled spirits of New Zealand and this image of this place pooped up which matches what i can remember of the location in my dream. Does this mean something? Also I have had dreams involving spirits before where I have woken up terrified and sweating, but after waking from this dream I felt really calm and relaxed. This is probably nothing and just a dream, but I would be interested in visiting this spot.